A Formal Apology
by coldstonepenworks
Summary: (Phoenix AU) After the perilous battle with the devious Lich, Simon is freed from within the accursed crown and immediately rushed to the Royal Candy Hospital. While Finn and Jake offer their condolences, who else might give their heartfelt apology to the once-algid antiquarian?


**A Formal Apology**

I hope those who are anticipating _Reign of Gunthers/__I Remember You _will be able to fully enjoy this fanfic I had written up, during my roleplaying as Simon Petrikov on a tumblr account. There is a _slight _mention of something along the lines of being NSFW, but it's not as graphic as one would think it would be.

I have to admit that writing Marceline in-character is somewhat difficult, so I used _Marceline's Closet_ as a sort of study.

* * *

He had been freed. After a millennium of endlessly traversing within the expansive Labyrinth of his own mind, _Simon Petrikov had finally been set free_. The crown that had locked him in a state of hibernation was completely destroyed after that battle with the undead sorcerer known as the Lich, and his true persona was brought forth.

But now he lay broken and aching all over, confined to a stark-white bed inside the massive, colorful building that was the Royal Candy Hospital. Dr. Ice Cream and Nurse Poundcake tended to his wounds, even heart surgery as Ricardio was defeated in battle along with the Lich, and in the end he was left motionless in order to be inserted back into Simon's chest cavity. After tedious hours in the surgery room, the man once known as the obnoxious Ice King recuperated in silence, with Princess Bubblegum coming to check on his progress every now and then.

Over the course of a few days, both Finn and Jake came to see Simon- the two felt responsible for the injuries inflicted to a fellow human that they have only met through a video tape. Sometimes Finn would bring things that he himself collected in the land of Ooo, and Simon felt compelled to explain their purpose to the young boy, that is, if he could even remember what they were. As for Jake, the dog was more concerned over the fact that his girlfriend, Lady Rainicorn, was having labor pains; she was due to give birth any day now.

Princess Bubblegum religiously tended to Simon, although she was wary that some of the Ice King's personality might still be lurking about in his mind. The antiquarian reassured her that the blue monster that he once was will never be coming back to terrorize her or the other princesses. When Bonnibel turned to leave Simon to rest, a memory of a young woman with sunset-colored hair and periwinkle eyes filled his thoughts, causing him to silently weep into his pillow before he slumbered off into dreamland.

All was still in the Hospital that night, and a couple of windows had been left open to welcome a cool breeze circulate throughout the rather stifling ward in which Simon slept. A miniature bat came flying through the window which was overhead the once-immortal, and had softly landed in his crown of dark brown curls. The bat then shape-shifted into the form of a human female: a vampire; Marceline Abadeer had indeed come to pay a visit to her oldest and, dearest, friend. She silently hovered over where Simon was resting, his breathing regular. A look of concern was visible on the Queen's face, her fingers working their way through his hair. When she had planted a peck onto his left cheek, Simon's eyes fluttered open, tired hazel meeting a concerned jade green.

"Marceline, is that you?" Simon's voice was hoarse from the dry air in the ward.

"Yeah, it's me. Look, I'm here to bust you out of Bonnie's place and bring you _home_." She replied, rolling her eyes at the self-mention of the candy princess.

"But I don't have a place to call home anymore," his eyes shied away from the young woman, "Gunther took everything away from me. It took you and me to defeat him and his army with our music, do you not remember? Even the drum set I used to play alongside you is lost amongst the melted ice."

It was then that the Vampire Queen situated herself beside Simon, fingering the collar of his paper gown, eying the jagged scar that now adorned the right side of his chest. "What did Bonnie and her pals do to you?" She asked as she slowly traced the tender skin with a fingertip.

He turned to face her, wincing at her touch. "I was in open heart surgery a few days ago, as Dr. Ice Cream had to put Ricardio back into my ribcage. I was knocked out during the operation, but I've gained both my original heart and a scar in the process, so I'm alright for the time being. I still smell faintly of toffee, though." Fresh tears started to roll down Marceline's face, and Simon slightly tilted his head in confusion.

"Dude, I thought I lost you…" she hiccuped. "Ever since that Lich guy threw that nasty fireball at you, and it hit your crown, I thought you would leave me again…"

Simon took Marceline into his arms, her tears staining the shoulder of his gown. "Everything is okay, Marcy. I'm here now." This statement caused Marceline to weep uncontrollably, and it took the antiquarian more gentle words to calm her down. When her tears dried, she once again gave Simon a proclamation of leaving with her, but she was more specific this time. "C'mon Si, be with me. _Please_."

It had hurt Simon to see a close friend plead for his companionship in this way, so he pulled her closer than he ever had done before. His eyes bore into hers, sending a faint rosy blush to crawl into Marceline's cheeks. There was a good reason as to why the vampire was hopelessly in love with this handsome, albeit mortal man she had known for over a thousand years.

"I will go with you, but only after I leave something behind…"

* * *

The next morning, Princess Bubblegum opened the doors to the Hospital in order to check on the only patient that was in there. Or at least, was _supposed _to be in there.

A call later, and both Finn and Jake arrived to find that the former Ice King had vanished from his post, broken pieces of the crown that was once perched atop his head had laid unmoved on the comforter. A small note was there, too, and in neat, eloquent handwriting, it said:

_Finn, Jake, Her Royal Highness Bonnibel,_

_I have gone back to the Ice Kingdom in order to salvage what was left from the wreckage of my home. Don't you worry, though- my wounds are fully healed with many thanks to the efforts of Dr. Ice Cream and Nurse Poundcake. I will also be in the company of a friend, so I'm not exactly alone in my struggle. For you, I have left the pieces of my crown for you to dispose of, whether you give them to Flame Princess or by another way, is entirely up to you._

_Sincerely yours,_  
_Simon Petrikov_

Finn looked up from the scrap of paper. "Jake, do you have an idea where Simon might've run off to?"

The bulldog met the teenager's dumbfounded face, a look of smugness on his own. "I have no idea, man. It's probably best that we let him go, though."

"Yeah, you're right. We'll run into him sooner or later."

And so Finn and Jake left the Princess, as she had begun to converse with Dr. Ice Cream about her missing patient, and where he might have gone.

* * *

A month had flown by ever since the Lich incident, and there was still no presence of the man from the Old World to be found in Ooo. Finn and Jake made their way to Marceline's house, which was tucked away in a cave where the Fire Kingdom and the ocean met on the coast. As they approached the lilac-colored abode, Finn rung the doorbell situated next to the front door. Nervous shuffling could be heard from inside, and the door opened with Marceline in a bathrobe that the two had never seen before.

"H-hey, guys," she asked with anxiety in her voice, "Wh-what's up?"

It was Finn that asked the Vampire Queen, "Hey, have you seen Simon around? He's been gone for a couple of weeks, and there was a buncha' things we wanted to ask him about."

As the teenager conversed with her, Jake noticed that Marceline was out of breath; her face and neck were covered in sweat. Suddenly, it dawned on the bulldog as to what activity Marcy was up to…

"Uh, Finn? We should probably get going about now." Jake looked over to his brother.

"But why? Doncha' wanna know where Simon went?"

"Yeah, _I do_, but now is not the time or _the place_ to discuss it. _We need to go_. See ya' around, Marcy."

With much protest from Finn, the adventurers turned to leave, and Marceline hastily closed her door with a loud thud. When the pair reached the raft that would take them back to the mainland and started to set sail, a **loud** scream could be heard coming from inside Marceline's house, echoing throughout the cave.

"Dude, what the Glob was that? It sounded like Marcy…" Finn looked back at the house, noticing that the windows were suspiciously covered by dark purple blinds.

"I'll tell you when you're older, mang. Right now, we need to get out of here as fast as we can…"

"But Jake-"

"_When you're older._ Now I've got Lady and my pups to tend to. You'll understand in time."


End file.
